Caltagirone

A city in colour

In Caltagirone, traditional pottery production is linked to a thousand-year-old history dating back to ancient times.
According to the Italian archaeologist Paolo Orsi the production of maiolica preceded the arrival of the Arabs, but we know for sure that their arrival in the 9th century increased production, thanks to the introduction of a new technique – glazing – which made the pottery waterproof and more resistant.
A few centuries later, during the Spanish rule of Alfonso of Aragon, pottery trade had greatly developed and allowed artisans to sell their ceramics all over the island.
Unfortunately, the earthquake of 1693 interrupted the potters’ activity and destroyed many of the floors made with the maiolica of Caltagirone.
Today some of the fragments are preserved in the Museum of Ceramics.
foto facciata museo  dei vasi fuori il museo
After the earthquake, decorative motifs were replaced in order to make trade flourish again. In the 19th century, however, with the introduction of cement, the production of maiolica stopped.
The potters’ centuries-old activity ended when the last master potters disappeared in the 1930s.
In 1918 Don Luigi Sturzo founded the Istituto d’Arte della Ceramica (Institute of Ceramic Art) and saved a tradition that seemed destined to be lost. In 1965 the Museum of Ceramics was inaugurated, a safe place that preserved and protected a priceless cultural heritage.
foto ceramiche in ordine di descrizione per periodo

A design by Vincenzo Sinatra

A square as the heart of the city

The senses tell the Cathedral of Sant’Agata

Church of San Giuliano (St. Julian) on Via dei Crociferi: reconstruction

A museum to save a tradition

Wonderful quick decorations

The interior and its masterpieces

A majestic and luminous church

The Maiolica of the staircase

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Sebastiano

The Staircase of Angels

A new palace for the La Rocca lords

The church of Carmine

Feasting in Palazzolo

The senses tell the story of the staircase of Santa Maria del Monte

A city in colour

The senses tell the story of the Church of the Annunciation

A new site for a new church

St. Agatha and the giant candelabras

The cathedral of Sant’Agata: a lengthy reconstruction

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giovanni Battista

A talking palace

The character of Badia Sant’Agata

A new entrance for Santa Chiara (St. Claire)

Limestone, the colour of harmony

A hall for the feasts

A half-Baroque church

New roads for Catania

A Nobel Prize in Modica

A colourful floor

The senses tell the Benedictine Monastery and San NicoIò l’Arena

A feast only for Scicli

A triumph of colour

Many owners, one palace

Prominent façade

San Nicolò l’Arena: an unfinished church

Some prestigious works

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

A long reconstruction

A small room with a golden entrance

The Burgos crucifix

The chocolate of Modica

The Infiorata, a feast of colours and flowers

A miniature city

From St. Thomas to St. Joseph

Searching for colour

The senses tell about Palazzo Nicolaci

Freedom of worship and the role of the Catholic Church in the diffusion of Baroque

The kitchen, a treasure chest of colours

Two illustrious patron saints

The Benedictine Monastery, one of the largest in Europe

From International Gothic to present day

Rosario Gagliardi, the maestro of the Val di Noto

Baroque and the loss of equilibrium in the 16th century

Connections with other UNESCO sites

Places of knowledge: the Benedictines’ library

An eagle-shaped city

Norman apses

The senses tell about Palazzo Napolino Tommasi Rosso

The city of museums

The senses tell the story of the Badia di Sant’Agata

Garden of Novices and the restorations by Giancarlo De Carlo

From the contrast of the exterior to the internal jubilation of colours

The theatre of taste

Between white and black

A new site for a new city

Fontana della Ninfa Zizza, public water in the town

One city, two sites

The senses tell the story of the church of San Giuseppe

The two churches

The disastrous earthquake

The façade used as a puppet theatre

The Barresi-Branciforte lords

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista

St. Sebastian, so much work!

The colours of the cathedral

The senses tell the Mother Church of San Nicolò and of the Santissimo Salvatore

The Baroque town by the sea

San Benedetto: a treasure reopened to the public

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Giuliano ai Crociferi

The senses tell about Palazzo La Rocca

A prominent church

Feast days

The Feast of San Giacomo (St. James)

A symbol for the town

Discovering the mother church

Corbels: a celebration of the Nicolaci family

The Supernatural dimension of the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento

Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata, who is the architect?

The senses tell the story of the Church of San Benedetto

The senses tell the story of the Church of Santa Chiara

Some masterpieces

The role of the religious orders in rebuilding the Val di Noto

The wall comes to life

Modica, a city with ancient origins

One city, three sites

The internal colours

Militello, the story of an enlightened fiefdom

The senses tell the story of the church of Santa Maria del Carmelo